The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor
SOUTH African based developer, Terracotta Private Limited which was awarded the bid to rehabilitate the Egodini Bus Terminus in Bulawayo is seemingly backtracking on their initial investment figure of US$60 million claiming that this was a creation of the media.
The company is instead claiming in their original tender documents that they had submitted a figure of US$25 million, which the local authority has, however, vehemently denied.
This came out during a virtual media briefing to update on the progress of the much anticipated Egodini project.
Responding to a question on the valuation of their projected total investment into the project, one of the Terracotta directors, Mr Thulani Moyo claimed that as far as he was concerned the US$60 million figure which had been previously peddled was a creation of the media. He said the figure he was aware of was in the region of US$25 million.
“To be honest with you and totally truthful with you, this number, US$60 million we do not know where it is coming from, it’s been bended around by the media, we are not too sure who created that number. What we did, in terms of what we were going to invest, in our bid submission we prepared a scheme, where we gave an estimate of how much that scheme would cost and that scheme was nowhere near the US$60 million that is being indicated. If I recall correctly the number was closer to US$25 million,” said Mr Moyo.
Questioned how then the figure which they tendered to council differed to that which was contained in the council report on the said project, Mr Moyo claimed he was not privy to what the council then noted for public consumption but was only conversant with their own bid document.
However, the local authority, disputed Mr Moyo’s assertion, with the chamber secretary, Mrs Sikhangele Zhou insisting that Terracotta’s submitted bid was valued at US$60 million.
“The tender that was there was for an expression of interest, and we were looking at the possible developments that would be done at Egodini, the amounts that were on possible investments- that were not hard and fast- and indeed the Terracotta bid documents did indicate that their estimated investment at that time was US$60 million,” she said.
Responding to this impasse, Bulawayo town clerk, Mr Chirstopher Dube instructed the acting director of town planning, Mr Wisdom Siziba to engage Terracotta officials so as to come up with a figure on the company’s possible investment in the project.
Meanwhile, Mr Moyo revealed that due to the national lockdown that had been implemented in the country in January they had been forced to delay their timelines for the completion of phase 1A of the project by two months, revealing that they would now be completing the phase by the end of October.
“Our plan is to complete the main service installation by the end of July, which allows us to start with the foundation of some of the top structures at the beginning of August 2021, which will be the trading store platforms for the 1 100 informal traders, all the public ablution, security tower and storage areas.
“We were meant to start construction on 18 January, but like everybody else who were affected by the national lockdown we were affected by two months, so in terms of our programme the total number of running weeks will remain the same but in terms of calendar because we lost those two months we will now be completing phase 1A by the end of October,” said Mr Moyo.
According to a council report Phase 1A of the project will include the construction of 1 100 informal traders’ stalls, a 100-bay taxi rank, security wall, security tower, motor retail, taxi associations offices, public ablutions and a service lane. Phase 1B includes the construction of the bus terminus building, fast-food shops and the grocery anchor.
Terracotta, which won the tender in September 2012, gave a rave review as part of their resume, stating that their past projects include the Edendale Shopping Mall in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, Chris Hani Crossing Taxi facility in Gauteng and the Tsakane Mall Taxi rank again in Gauteng.
The initial tender for the re-development of the terminus was advertised and closed on 25 June 2012, the compulsory tender briefing was held on 5 July with 14 companies attending. The pre-adjudication inter-departmental meeting was held on 11 September to consider the submissions, where Terracotta was awarded the tender.
The company was also awarded a 99-year lease to the terminus.
